The Prophet and The Illusionist
by SequinedRedPoppy
Summary: Formely titled, The Artist and The Shapeshifter. Isaac Mendez thinks his life has come crashing down after the accidental murder of his girlfriend, Simone. But after the arrival of a new person, he realizes it may not have after all. IsaacCandace
1. Chapter 1

The Prophet and The Illusionist

Disclaimer: Heroes, or any of its characters, belong to NBC and Tim Kring. Not me.

Author's Note: Since Heroes has about a hundred pairings already, I've decided to toss another one into the barrel. You can call them…..Canssac.

**_In the end, what does it matter if the human heart can only find meaning in the smallest of moments?_**

**-Mohinder Suresh**

The first jolt of panic came when Isaac realized that Simone was indeed dead. The only woman he had ever really cared for was lying, shot, in _his_ apartment with a gun that _he _had fired. And sure, he wasn't really thinking when he picked up the rifle off the floor and began firing at Peter Petrelli again, but it felt really good at the time.

And then, right before his eyes, Peter just disappeared. _Poof_! Into thin air.

"The son of a bitch can turn invisible now?" Isaac asked himself out loud.

Not really caring to investigate this thought any further, Isaac slumped to the floor and placed his head in his hands. Nothing was going as it was supposed to right now.

(H) (E) (R) (O) (E) (S)

It made Candace laugh at how clueless Bennet's wife was. Of course, the memory wipes had probably done most of it, but it was still kinda funny.

Did Sandra really think a fresh outta college girl like Candace would really work at something as boring as a _paper factory_? Maybe the Haitian had paid her one visit too many.

Candace considered mentioning Mrs. Bennet's being senile on the plane ride to her husband, but why bother? It's not like Mr. Bennet would ever listen to her anyways. She was just the young, stupid assistant with the funky powers to him.

'_Little do you know, Mr. Bossman, that your time at the Company is growing shorter and shorter.'_

(H) (E) (R) (O) (E) (S)

The second jolt of panic came about two hours later, when a knock came on the door of Isaac's apartment. This followed by the sound of policemen yelling, demanding for him to open the door.

He was completely screwed.

Isaac was seriously considering getting his old stash out its hiding place and quickly shooting up to calm himself down, but then he realized that would get him into even more trouble with the cops. So he picked himself up off of the ground and went to answer the door.

(H) (E) (R) (O) (E) (S)

Bennet suggested that he and Candace wait in a coffee shop across from their project's apartment before they needed to intervene in whatever this Mendez guy had done.

Candace watched as Bennet occasionally sipped his coffee as he stared across the street. She began to drink her own espresso, stopping every now and then to wipe the foam off her upper lip.

The clock in the upper corner of the shop ticked slowly, tempting Candace to go insane if it didn't stop.

Five minutes past. Ten. Fifteen.

After twenty minutes, Candace peered out of the window and saw that three men, one wearing a suit, the others police uniforms, were heading up towards Mendez's place. Candace looked at Bennet and noticed that he had stopped his watchdog act. She pointed behind him and shook her head as he turned around.

"Time to go?" she asked, grinning.

(H) (E) (R) (O) (E) (S)

Isaac could barely hear what the men were saying. All he knew is that they better not look over his shoulder, or they'd see Simone's dead body lying in the far end of his apartment.

Had he covered it up with anything? He didn't think so. All Isaac could really concentrate on the few minutes after Simone's killing was shooting Peter.

The detective asked if he and his buddies could come inside to look around.

'_Busted, I am so busted!'_ Isaac thought wildly as the man stepped inside. But before they could get any further, a soft voice filled his ears, and in walked…..

Simone?

(H) (E) (R) (O) (E) (S)

Candace loved the look on the guy's face. A mix of horror and confusion lit his eyes as he watched his dead girlfriend cross the threshold of his apartment.

"Is something wrong?" she asked in Simone's voice.

The guy in the suit seemed less surprised than Isaac that Miss Deveaux was alive and walking. He apologized to "Simone" for the misunderstanding and left.

"Simone," Isaac gasped, "You're alive."

Candace glanced down and grimaced at the real Simone, who was a bloody mess by now. Of course, she was the only one who could see it. Everyone else saw only what _she_ wanted them to.

It was then that she began to feel sorry for Isaac. All he did was try to protect his city, and he wound up killing his girlfriend.

He was actually kind of cute, Candace realized. Sure, his hair was a bit on the long and unruly side, and his face had the look of someone who hadn't slept in days, but it oddly worked for him.

From what she heard what Bennet, Simone sounded like a real bitch. Isaac had loved her, really loved her, and she repaid that devotion by leaving him in his time of need for some sissy with a cheerleader fetish.

But why should she care? This guy's life was none of her business. She was just here to do her job.

Candace turned to face Isaac again. "Lucky you," she said coldly.

Bennet walked into the room and smiled. "My, you're very useful." Candace returned the grin and began to change back.

(H) (E) (R) (O) (E) (S)

Isaac stumbled back in shock. Who the hell was this girl? And why was she able to change into Simone? Was his mind just playing tricks on him due to lack of sleep?

And that's when it hit him. This girl was one of them. One of what whatever he, Peter Petrelli, and Hiro Nakamura were.

Sweet Jesus.

The world had officially stopped now. Simone was dead, a living bomb was roaming the street, set to go off at any given time, and his new boss had just shown up in his apartment again.

"Candace is special, Isaac," Mr. Bennet said, "Just like you."

Isaac refused to look at him. This girl was _not _like him. She didn't know what it was like to see death before it happened, she didn't know what it was like to have the only thing that mattered stolen away from you, _she _didn't know what it was like to have her world come crashing down in a matter of seconds. He snapped his attention back to Mr. Bennet.

"As of now, Simone Deveaux is traveling Europe," he told Isaac. That wasn't going to be good enough.

"How am I supposed to forget this happened?" Isaac asked, launching into a full panic attack. He heard the girl who was claimed to be "just like him" giggle. He whirled around.

"You should have thought of that _before _you shot her," she smirked. Isaac wanted to walk right up to her and smack the grin off her face. But he couldn't. As tough as he wanted to admit it, she kind of reminded him of himself.

Weird.

(H) (E) (R) (O) (E) (S)

'_What am I doing here_?' Candace thought bitterly. '_I just want to leave._' She looked up at Isaac again and noticed him staring at her. '_What's he looking at_?' Candace flipped her hair over her shoulder and began to change again, this time to look like the 'new' Simone.

"What's wrong, honey?" she asked, opening her jacket to reveal a bloody chest. "You wanna shoot me again?"

Isaac stumbled back, causing Candace smiled. _'Look away, little boy_.'

"Drop the illusion, Candace," Bennet ordered. Candace considered flipping him off but decided against it. He who ruins her fun will get his later.

Candace threw one last look at Isaac and walked out the door and away from the apartment.

(H) (E) (R) (O) (E) (S)

Isaac had no idea what he was getting himself into. He knew Simone's body wasn't going to be moved anytime soon, because he couldn't look at it without breaking down and crying.

He had asked Mr. Bennet what he was supposed to do, and the old man had replied for him to, "Keep painting."

Keep painting. Yeah right, he was never going to pick up a paintbrush again. But he was going to pick up something else.

Isaac ran over to his bookshelf and pulled out a large red book. He opened it and pulled out the drug paraphernalia hidden inside. He brought it all over to the kitchen table and began to let his old habit worked its magic.

(H) (E) (R) (O) (E) (S)

Candace was almost a block away from her apartment when she remembered that they hadn't gotten rid of the body. She knew that she had to do something about it, because Mendez was obviously in no condition to move his girlfriend's corpse.

"I'll be right back," she told Bennet.

"Better hurry up," he said, not even asking where she was heading off to. Candace waved a farewell and began to jog down the crowded sidewalk.

(H) (E) (R) (O) (E) (S)

Pictures were flashing all over Isaac's mind, but only one stayed in focus long enough for him to paint. The familiar brush strokes made him relax more, but his overuse of the color red made him feel uneasy.

When he was finished, he was able to shake off his fog and examine his latest piece of art. What he saw made him nearly shout out in shock.

At first glance he couldn't tell who it was. But as he looked closer, he saw the familiar hair and eyes, and realized that he had painted himself.

No big deal, right? He usually painted the future him about four times a week. But this time was different.

The painting depicted Isaac Mendez lying on the ground, eyes opened in shock, head sawed clear off.

Now he knew why he had used so much red paint.

(H) (E) (R) (O) (E) (S)

The door of the apartment was opened, Candace noticed as she let herself in. The stench of blood hung in the air now. She had better dispose of Simone before the vultures started arriving.

The first thing Candace noticed as she stepped into the room was a painting. In it, there was a picture of Isaac lying on a red sofa, a woman with black hair leaning over him.

It was then that she saw the actual Isaac Mendez. As the painting depicted, he was passed out stone cold on the floor.

Candace considered taking Simone and leaving; telling herself that she wasn't a nurse, but her conscience wouldn't let her. So she walked over to Isaac, ignoring the smell of heroine lingering in the air, and dragged him to the same red sofa in the picture.

(H) (E) (R) (O) (E) (S)

Isaac woke up from his deep slumber to a cold rush on his forehead. He opened his eyes, and saw that the Candace girl was poised over him, dabbing his face gently with a wet cloth.

"What happened?" he murmured, rubbing his eyes.

"Drug overdose," Candace explained, "Now lie down, you need to rest."

"No, I don't," Isaac barked, brushing her hand away. "I need to get the hell out of here. Some psycho is going to cut my head open!"

"Sylar," Candace whispered. Isaac perked up when he heard her.

"Sylar?" he asked, "You mean that psycho who was trying to kill Bennet's daughter a few weeks ago? So he's after me now, is that it?"

"I don't know," Candace admitted, "But stay here, alright? I'm gonna call someone."

"Call who?" Isaac demanded, "The police? Like that's gonna do any good." He tried to stand up but a burst of dizziness forced him to sit down again.

"Just sit down, okay?" Candace looked like she was about to kill him.

"Fine," Isaac grumbled, too old to sulk but feeling the urge to anyways.

(H) (E) (R) (O) (E) (S)

Candace couldn't believe it. A man who was four years older than her was acting like a complete baby. All he needed was the rattle and soother and he'd be set.

"Hey!" she snapped, causing Isaac to raise his head in surprise. "It's going to be okay, alright? From what Bennet tells me, Sylar hasn't been spotted in weeks. He may be dead, to think of it. So can you chill?"

Isaac folded his arms across his chest and sucked his teeth. "My paintings don't lie."

"Well they might if we get you away from here," Candace told him, "Pack a bag."

"Excuse me," Isaac asked, his mouth hanging open.

"Pack. A. Bag," Candace repeated slowly, "We're going to Clayton."


	2. Chapter 2

The Prophet and The Illusionist

**Disclaimer: My ideas belong to me; the characters and story outline belong to NBC and Tim Kring.**

**Author's Note: This story isn't seeming to get any reviews, but I'm continuing anyways. **

(H) (E) (R) (O) (E) (S)

Isaac had no idea what in hell he was doing. Who was this girl to think she had the right to boss him around? And why was he even listening? Even so, he continued to pack the only suitcase he had in preparation for his journey.

The sun had begun to dip a little, casting a vague pink light on the bag he had filled with all the things he had assumed that he needed. Clothing, art supplies, paper, and a few random paintings seemed to be his only necessities.

Isaac looked under his bed, and briefly considered taking his second stash along for a second, and then hid the thought away when he remembered he had just recovered from an, albeit small, overdose.

A knock came on the door. "Are you decent?" Candace's voice asked him. Isaac ran his hands threw his hair. Why had he agreed to this?

He shook his head, then after remembering that the girl couldn't see him, yelled out a, "Yes!"

The door swung open, and there stood Candace, chewing on something covered in a purple wrapper.

"What are you-is that one of my granola bars?" Isaac asked. Candace nodded, flashing off another smirk.

"I was hungry," she told him, "And you left the cupboard wide open!"

"This could count as breaking and entering you know!" Isaac snapped, shutting his suitcase closed and picking it up.

"Cry me a river," Candace said threw a mouthful of food. A few crumbs shot out of her open mouth and silently hit Isaac's floor.

Isaac looked at her for a second, than pushed past and headed outside.

(H) (E) (R) (O) (E) (S)

The first few miles of the car ride were quiet, until Candace finally broke the silence.

"So this Petrelli guy, what happened to him?" she asked, keeping her voice low as to not attract the attention of the taxi driver.

Isaac crossed his arms and grunted. "I hope the little shit is dead, and if he comes back, I'll gladly do the job myself."

Candace didn't talk for a few minutes, than tried again to have a more pleasant conversation.

"How long have you been painting for?"

She saw that Isaac was considering this, but after a while, he finally answered: "About six years. I took a few courses in college."

"No kidding."

"Yeah."

"So have all your paintings come true so far?" Candace asked.

"Not all of them," Isaac told her, unrolling a large picture of himself with blood pouring out of the top of his head.

Candace gasped, and then felt a tinge of regret doing so. The guy didn't anymore reminders of his supposed death.

"Sylar won't get you," she tried to reassure him, "I'm gonna make positive of that."

Isaac gave her what looked like a small grin, and then began rolling up the painting again, stowing it beside him.

It was then that Candace's cell rang.

"One sec." She held up a finger to Isaac. The call display flashed one word:

**THOMPSON**

(H) (E) (R) (O) (E) (S)

Isaac watched as Candace spoke into her phone. The conversation seemed to be made up only of "Uh-huh"s and "Okay"s.

Finally, Candace muttered an "I'll be there as soon as possible", and hung up. Before Isaac could say a word, she leaned over and tapped the cabbie on the shoulder.

"Change of plans," she told the driver, "Take us to the airport." She slouched back in her seat, resting her head on her cropped hands.

"What's happening?" Isaac asked, "I thought we were just going to Clayton."

"Not anymore," Candace informed him, "We're Texas bound."

(H) (E) (R) (O) (E) (S)

Candace liked that Isaac wasn't asking any questions about their destination change. All he did while she purchased their tickets and dragged him on the plane was slowly turn whiter and whiter.

"Relax," she said as they sat down into the brown leather seats, pushing their seatbelts in. "You'll love Texas."

"Texas is nice," Isaac said, "Would be even nicer if I knew why I was going there."

Candace sighed. She knew the subject was going to pop up sooner or later.

"Something's come up at my job," she told him, "And I'm the only one who can solve the problem."

Isaac practically shot up out of his seat. "Does this have something to do with Bennet's company?"

"Smart one," Candace grinned, than she leaned back in her seat as the plane began to take off.

(H) (E) (R) (O) (E) (S)

Isaac was expecting Candace to take them to the paper factory where he had last stayed, but it was to his surprise when they pulled up in front of a fancy hotel.

It was even more surprising that Isaac looked over at Candace to see if she was going to give any clue at why they were there, and saw that an older woman with curly blonde hair was where she was just sitting.

"Whoa!" This time, Isaac _did_ shoot out of his seat, hitting his head on the ceiling quite hard as he did so. The woman laughed.

"Would you chill?" she asked, "It's me!"

"C-Candace?" Isaac asked, still trying to get his heart rate back to normal.

"Yes," The transformed Candace snapped, pulling the door of the rented Nissan open. "Now calm down and sit still. I'll be back in a few minutes, okay?"

Isaac nodded, and watched as Stranger Danger walked into the building.

(H) (E) (R) (O) (E) (S)

Candace knew that Bennet wasn't an easy man to trick, but he seemed to be falling for the phony wife plan hook, line, and sinker.

It was shocking to see that she had arrived at the hotel room before her fearless leader, and she was just able to pick the lock and plop herself onto the bed before Bennet arrived.

"The Company has to be stopped," he said from across the room, causing Candace to snap her head up. Bennet walked over and picked Candace up from where she sat.

"It's going to be okay," she said, trying to get the man to calm down. She had what she wanted, and now all she had to do was slink out of his grasp and make the call…..

But then, to her absolute horror, the man began to lean forward, pursing his lips slightly.

'_No, no, no!' _Candace silently urged. _'You get away from me right now! STOP!'_

She was going to push Bennet back, but he pushed his mouth against hers before she could do anything.

'_Oh, GOD!' _she screamed inside her head, _'Thompson better promote me at least three levels after this little experience.'_

The old man finally got off, letting Candace slink off and grab her phone. She dialed the number quick and let herself back into the room.

"Hello?" Thompson's gruff voice answered on the other end.

"Hey," Candace said. She could practically see her boss's eyes light up with joy.

"Is there any trouble?" he asked.

Candace walked back into the room where Bennet was in, watching the man give her a questioning look. She considered letting him go for a second, but then remembered her loyalty to the Company.

"Yes, he is going to be a problem," she told Thompson.

"So when should we apprehend him?"

"Why don't we do it right now?" Candace asked. She held up a finger to a surprised Bennet and whispered, "One sec."

The door of the hotel room creaked open, and in walked Thompson and two other agents. You gotta love officials with teleportation powers!

The last thing Candace noticed about Bennet before his former co-workers charted him away was the look on his face. The same mix of confusion and horror Isaac had when he saw that his girlfriend had come back from the dead.


End file.
